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Primer (prayer book)

This article is about the Christian prayer book. For the related type of secular textbook, see Primer (textbook). For other uses, see Primer.
A 1902 reproduction of an illustration from a 1502 Parisian Sarum primer

Primer (Latin: primarium; Middle English: primmer, also spelled prymer)[1] is the name for a variety of devotional prayer books that originated among educated medieval laity in the 14th century, particularly in England.[2] While the contents of primers have varied dependent on edition, they often contained portions of the Psalms and Latin liturgical practices such as the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Medieval primers were often similar to and sometimes considered synonymous with the also popular book of hours (Latin: horae); typically, a medieval horae was referred to as a primer in Middle English.[1]

Primers remained popular during and immediately after the English Reformation among Protestants in the Church of England, where it developed into an Anglican and humanist educational tool for schoolchildren. Catholic editions were occasionally produced up to the 20th century, though in limited numbers. Over the succeeding centuries, their popularity as Christian texts waned as the word primer came to be associated with secular introductory textbooks.[3][4]: 402 

  1. ^ a b Scott-Stokes, Charity (2006). Women's Books of Hours in Medieval England: Selected Texts Translated from Latin, Anglo-Norman French and Middle English with Introduction and Interpretative Essay. Library of Medieval Women. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer. p. 1.
  2. ^ Broderick, Robert C., ed. (1944). "Prymer". Concise Catholic Dicitionary. Saint Paul, MN: Catechetical Guild Educational Society. p. 276-277.
  3. ^ Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1997). "Primer". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 1327. ISBN 0-19-211655-X.
  4. ^ Attwater, Donald, ed. (1962). "Primer, The". A Catholic Dictionary (3rd ed.). New York City: Macmillan Company.

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